Key points at a glance
- Basic health insurance continues unchanged during unemployment; premiums, deductible and benefits stay the same.
- Your employer’s non-work-related accident insurance ends on the 31st day after your entitlement to salary ends (Art. 3 para. 2 UVG).
- If you receive unemployment benefit, you are insured against accidents through Suva; the unemployment insurance fund deducts at most two thirds of the premium from your daily allowance (Art. 22a para. 4 AVIG).
- If you fall ill, unemployment insurance pays the full daily allowance up to the 30th day, at most 44 daily allowances per framework period (Art. 28 para. 1 AVIG).
- If your income falls, you can ask the canton to recalculate your premium subsidy (Art. 65 para. 3 KVG).
What does health insurance during unemployment mean?
It is about what happens to your insurance cover when you lose your job. Three types of insurance are affected, and they react differently:
- Basic health insurance under the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). It depends on where you live, not on your employment. It continues unchanged.
- Accident insurance under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG). It depends on your employment. Your employer’s cover ends, and while you receive unemployment benefit, Suva takes over.
- Daily sickness allowance. A collective daily sickness allowance insurance taken out by your employer ends when you leave, unless you transfer to individual insurance.
If you understand how these fit together, you avoid two typical problems: a gap in your accident cover and paying twice for the accident risk.
How it works
Basic health insurance. Your insurer, your deductible and your model stay the same. You continue to pay the premium yourself; the unemployment insurance fund does not cover it. The canton’s premium subsidy can help if your income falls.
Accident cover. As long as you work at least eight hours a week for an employer, you are also insured against accidents in your free time through the employer (non-work-related accident insurance). During this time you can exclude accident cover from your health insurance and save on the premium. After your entitlement to salary ends, the non-work-related accident insurance continues until the 31st day. After that:
- With unemployment benefit: Accident insurance starts on the day on which you first meet the eligibility requirements. The insurer is Suva. The unemployment insurance fund deducts at most two thirds of the premium from your daily allowance and pays the rest. You can keep accident cover excluded from your health insurance.
- Without unemployment benefit: After the 31st day you are no longer insured under the UVG. Your health insurer then automatically covers accidents again, with the deductible and retention fee. You must notify it so that it can include accident cover and adjust the premium. Before the cover runs out, you can take out extended cover by agreement with your employer’s insurer, which extends the non-work-related accident insurance by up to six months.
If your entitlement to unemployment benefit later ends and you do not start a new job, the unemployment insurance informs you that you must notify your health insurer. After the 31st day, you are no longer insured under the UVG there either.
Illness and replacement income. If you fall ill while unemployed, unemployment insurance pays the full daily allowance up to the 30th day after the start of your incapacity for work, at most 44 daily allowances within the framework period. After that, you need daily allowance insurance. If you were insured collectively through your employer, check your right of transfer to individual insurance.
Legal basis
Art. 3 para. 2 UVG: Accident insurance ends on the 31st day after the day on which the entitlement to at least half the salary ends; for unemployed persons, on the 31st day after unemployment benefit was last received. Under Art. 3 para. 1 UVG, it starts for unemployed persons as soon as the eligibility requirements under Art. 8 of the Unemployment Insurance Act (AVIG) are met. Art. 3 para. 3 UVG obliges the insurer to offer an extension by agreement of up to six months. Art. 13 of the Accident Insurance Ordinance (UVV) sets the threshold of eight hours a week for non-work-related accident insurance.
Art. 22a para. 4 AVIG: The unemployment insurance fund deducts at most two thirds of the premium for non-work-related accident insurance from the benefit and pays it, together with its own third, to Suva. Art. 28 para. 1 AVIG governs the daily allowance in the event of illness.
Art. 8 KVG allows accident cover to be suspended as long as you are fully insured under the UVG; under para. 2, the health insurer covers accidents as soon as UVG cover ends. Art. 10 KVG obliges employers and unemployment insurance to point out your duty to notify. If you fail to notify, the insurer can claim the premium share for accident cover retrospectively, plus default interest. Art. 71 KVG governs the transfer from a collective daily allowance insurance under the KVG, and Art. 65 para. 3 KVG the consideration of current income for premium subsidies.
Example: losing a job in Zurich
Daniel, 38, lives in Zurich and has excluded accident cover from his health insurance because he was insured through his employer. His entitlement to salary ends on 30.06.2026.
| Period | Accidents covered by | What Daniel has to do |
|---|---|---|
| until 31.07.2026 | Former employer’s non-work-related accident insurance (31 days) | nothing |
| from the start of unemployment benefit | Suva through unemployment insurance | nothing; accident cover with the health insurer stays excluded |
| if he does not receive benefit | Health insurer, with deductible and retention fee | inform the insurer, include accident cover |
What this means for you
- Clarify your accident cover. If you receive unemployment benefit, you are insured through Suva. Without benefit, you include accident cover with your health insurer. The page exclude accident cover explains how including and excluding it works.
- Check your premiums. The premium remains, even without income. Switching insurer, deductible or model can lower it; the dates are listed under deadlines. You can find insurer data under health insurers.
- Apply for a premium subsidy. Ask the canton to recalculate it with your current income. More under premium subsidy.
- Secure your daily allowance. When you leave, check whether you can transfer from your employer’s daily allowance insurance to individual insurance, and meet the deadline.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to notify the health insurer. If UVG cover ends with nothing to follow, you must inform the insurer. Otherwise it can claim the premium for accident cover retrospectively, with interest.
- Paying twice for accidents. While you receive unemployment benefit, you are covered through Suva. Including accident cover with the health insurer is then not necessary.
- Wanting to cancel basic health insurance. It is compulsory and does not depend on work.
- Letting the right of transfer lapse. If you miss the deadline for transferring to individual daily allowance insurance, you have to take out new insurance and risk a health check.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to tell my health insurer that I am unemployed?
Not for basic health insurance. You must, however, notify it when your accident insurance through your employer or through unemployment insurance ends. The health insurer must then cover accidents again, and the premium rises accordingly.
Am I still insured if I do not register as unemployed?
Yes. Basic health insurance depends on where you live, not on work. Without receiving unemployment benefit, however, you are not insured against accidents through Suva once your employer’s cover ends.
Who pays my premiums when I am unemployed?
You do, as before. Unemployment benefit does not include a contribution towards the health insurance premium. If your income is low, the cantonal premium subsidy can help.
What happens if I fall ill while unemployed?
Basic health insurance covers the treatment costs as always. As a replacement for income, unemployment insurance pays the full daily allowance up to the 30th day of incapacity for work, at most 44 daily allowances within the framework period.
Related terms
- Accident coverAccident cover is the part of your basic health insurance that pays for treatment costs after an accident. If you work at least 8 hours a week for one employer, you are insured against accidents through that employer under the UVG. You can then suspend the accident cover with your health insurer and save up to 7 % of your premium.
- Non-work-related accidentA non-work-related accident (Nichtberufsunfall, NBU) is any accident that does not happen at work or on your employer’s instructions, for example while doing sport, at home or on holiday. Employees who work at least eight hours a week for the same employer are compulsorily insured against it under the Accident Insurance Act (UVG). The employer deducts the premium from your salary.
- Daily sickness allowance insuranceDaily sickness allowance insurance replaces part of your salary if you cannot work because of illness. It is voluntary and usually taken out by the employer as collective insurance. Under the KVG, the daily allowance must be paid for at least 720 days within 900 days. Without it, the employer pays only three weeks’ salary in the first year of employment.
- Right of transferThe right of transfer allows you, when you leave a collective insurance policy such as your employer’s daily sickness allowance insurance, to switch to individual insurance with the same insurer. For daily allowance insurance under the KVG, it is guaranteed by law, without new reservations and with a deadline of three months. For contracts under the ICA, the contract terms determine whether and how you can transfer.
- Premium subsidyA premium subsidy (Prämienverbilligung, IPV) is a contribution from your canton of residence towards your basic health insurance premium if you live on a modest income. The canton pays the money directly to your health insurer, so your bill gets smaller. For children from families on lower and middle incomes, it must reduce the premium by at least 80%.
- Continued payment of salary during illnessContinued payment of salary during illness means: if you are ill through no fault of your own and cannot work, your employer must keep paying your salary for a limited period. In the first year of service this is at least three weeks (Art. 324a CO). Many employers replace this obligation with daily sickness allowance insurance, which usually pays 80% of the salary.
Sources
- Accident Insurance Act (UVG), Art. 3Art. 3 UVGfedlex.admin.ch
- Unemployment Insurance Act (AVIG), Art. 22a and 28Art. 22a and 28 AVIGfedlex.admin.ch
- Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), Art. 8 and 10Art. 8 and 10 KVGfedlex.admin.ch
- Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), Art. 71Art. 71 KVGfedlex.admin.ch
- Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG), Art. 65Art. 65 para. 3 KVGfedlex.admin.ch
- Accident Insurance Ordinance (UVV), Art. 13Art. 13 UVVfedlex.admin.ch
- FOPH: Health insurance premiums 2026 (opendata.swiss)opendata.swiss